Per Sempre
by xKLGx
Summary: One-shot in canon with season 5. Lucas runs to Europe to hide from his feelings. Can anyone make him face them?


**To all of those who are waiting on me to update my other stories, I promise I will get to it soon! In the meantime, I have written this one shot to help tide you over and to assure you that I am still writing and have not forgotten about my stories! Enjoy! **

* * *

As he leaned over the balcony and admired the view, he couldn't help but sigh. The city was lit up with a canvas of bright stars hanging above it, looking like a picture postcard. He was tempted to take a photo to preserve the moment, but didn't want to tear himself away. Although the city was full and buzzing with life, a lot of the noise didn't make its way up to him. He felt peaceful and relaxed, like he could stand here forever.

That was the reason he had left in the first place. Haley had joked that he had gone soul searching but he had left just to get away from it all. At least that's what he told himself.

When he had told his best friend and brother that he was going away for a while to get some quiet, they all heard the other, unspoken reason. To get away from _her._ They had been supportive of him, although Haley had attempted to make him stay; only giving in when he was so adamant about leaving. So, after making him promise to contact them every other day, he was on a plane, soaring above the Atlantic.

That was 6 weeks ago.

He travelled, lost himself in the culture of other countries. Went to places he had always wanted to go. He tried the food, he sipped the wine, he saw the sights. But even 4000 miles couldn't allow him to escape her. She was constantly in the forefront of his mind.

Since leaving his hometown he had been to England, France, Spain and now Italy. He stayed longer in some places than others. Spain had just been a few short days. But no matter where he went, he was still chased by the memory of her.

He sighed deeply as he pushed himself off the railing and turned, making his way inside the apartment. Andy had generously offered to let him use the place while he was in Rome telling him to stay there for as long as he liked. One of the many perks of having your mother date a billionaire.

He had spent the last 5 days in Italy and knew that he wouldn't be leaving any time soon. The minute he arrived he felt calmness spread over him. Maybe it was the way the Italians were so relaxed about everything, the way they were so friendly and hospitable. He felt at peace here.

He made his way over to the kitchen to fix himself a drink before going back onto the terrace and settling down with a book.

* * *

The next morning found him at one of the many cafes that lined the streets of Rome. This one he had discovered after walking around on his first day here. It was tucked away down a narrow, cobbled street and it was quaint and quiet, reminding him of his mother's cafe back home. He had been back every day since.

He sat himself at his usual table and basked in the warm, summer sunshine.

"Back again Signor?" asked the waitress, Stephania, in her thick Italian accent.

Lucas smiled at her before speaking. "Well your coffee is the best. I just couldn't stay away."

She laughed, rolling her eyes at him as she cleaned the table next to him " I will be back in a minute with your drink."

"Grazie." He smiled.

His Italian was very basic, but so far he had been getting away with it. He wasn't surprised that the people here could speak English; they needed it to communicate with their customers. He just wished he knew more Italian.

_Well, I'm in the right place to learn _he thought to himself.

He watched quietly as the world passed by. He knew he could quite easily stay here all day, but the other part of him, the tourist, wanted to go out and explore some more.

He was pulled from his thoughts as Stephania came back with his usual, coretto- a coffee with a shot of grappa. He had just discovered the new beverage and was fast becoming addicted.

"Here you go signor" she said as she placed it in front of him.

"Thank you" he smiled as he lifted it to his lips.

He smiled his approval as he set the cup down.

"So" she said as looked at him "where you going today?" she asked.

"Where do you suggest?" he questioned.

Every day that he came here, she asked what he was going to do and everyday he asked her for a suggestion, going to the place she recommended. Where better to go than a place suggested by an Italian?

She laughed deeply.

"Signor, why don't you go to a place _you_ think of?" she grinned.

"You know best" he answered, taking another sip of coffee.

He found her friendliness soothing. She was like an Italian version of Haley.

She shook her head and thought for a moment before sitting down opposite him.

"Many people who come here are searching for something. What is it that you are looking for?"

He knew she wasn't talking about site seeing anymore.

He shrugged and looked out to the street for a moment before he answered.

"Truthfully? I don't know."

She nodded "then what are you getting away from?" she asked with a knowing look.

He gazed back at her and shook his head. "Nothing" he lied

"Signor, most people who come here are searching for something or getting away from something. Which one are you?" she asked as she got up to leave.

As she walked away she looked over her shoulder "St. Peter's Basilica is benissimo."

"St. Peter's Basilica it is then" Lucas said as he got up, putting 10 Euros down as he always did before leaving.

When he got back to the apartment that night he was practically sleep walking. Stephania had been right as usual, St. Peter's Basilica has been very good. He had also found a nice pizzeria nearby where he stopped for dinner which was followed by a walk along the Tiber River.

He sat down and opened his laptop, unsurprised to find an email off Haley asking how he was and telling him that they all missed him. Lucas typed back a quick reply, forcing himself not to ask how _she _was doing. After hitting the send button with a deep sigh, he closed down his laptop and shuffled off to bed, wondering what he would get up to tomorrow.

* * *

9 weeks.

9 whole weeks since she had last seen him. That was a total of 63 days. 1512 hours. 90720 minutes.

Not that she had counted.

She sighed as she threw her pen on her desk and rubbed her hands across her face. All she had been thinking about was him and it was driving her to the brink of insanity.

She thought back to their last conversation. To say it had been strained was an understatement. They had had a huge blow out over at Nathan and Haley's after dinner. Lucas had been avoiding her and she had called him on it when they were left alone to clean up.

_They had been doing the dishes for 10 minutes now and Lucas hadn't even looked at her. Not once. All he had done was mumble at her quickly before he began to clean up. Apart from that, he hadn't said a word. _

_After another 5 minutes, she'd had enough. She threw the dishcloth down and turned to face him. _

"_Ok Lucas, what gives?" she huffed. _

_Lucas looked up at her with an expression of confusion. _

"_Oh don't look like that. You know exactly what I'm talking about" she said, her anger getting the better of her. _

_Lucas sighed and ran a wet hand through his hair. _

"_What do you want me to say Peyton?" _

"_How about the truth Lucas? All you have done since I came back is avoid me like some contagious disease. And when you do see me you barely say 2 words before leaving!" _

_It hurt Peyton that he couldn't stand to be near her. She had desperately wanted to talk to him, but never got the chance. It had been four years since the botched proposal and she was dying to just talk to him again. But he always found a reason not to be alone with her, until now, and she wasn't going to let the opportunity pass. _

"_Fine! You want me to tell you the truth?" he yelled at her, not giving her time to answer as he continued into a full blown rant._

"_The truth is I cannot be around you because it hurts so god damned much! Every time I see you it kills me because I'm not enough for you! It hurts that I can't be with you Peyton and I know that it's my fault by bombarding you with a proposal but dammit, I loved you! I still do! I gave you my heart and you crushed it. That's why I'm avoiding you. Because I know if stay around you long enough it will happen all over again."_

_With that he had stormed from the house. _

_Peyton had stood in shock until her attention was drawn to the back door where Nathan, Haley and Brooke had all witnessed the outburst, sympathetic looks across their faces._

Peyton shook her head as she thought back. If only she had gone after him straight away instead of leaving it to the next day, by which time he was half way across the world.

She slammed her note pad shut angrily.

"Poor note book" came a voice from the door.

Peyton looked up to see Haley making her way into her office.

"It deserved it" Peyton joked weakly.

Haley nodded as she sat down opposite her.

Peyton looked up at her before speaking at length.

"How is he?"

It was the same question she asked her every day.

Haley smiled softly at her "he seems ok. He never really says much in his emails other than where he is and that he's fine."

"Where is he now?"

"He's still in Italy. He seems to really like it over there" Haley replied

Peyton nodded and looked down at her desk.

Haley surveyed her for a long moment, sighing mentally. So, ok. Maybe she lied a little. Lucas wasn't fine. He could lie about it in an email, but she knew him. And from the look of Peyton, she wasn't fine either. She knew what she was about to do would violate the best friend code big time, but she was tired of seeing them both unhappy.

"Ok," she cleared her throat and shifted forward in her chair. "You need to go and see Lucas" she said seriously.

Peyton's head snapped up.

"What?" she asked, incredulous.

"You heard. He is miserable and so are you. You are also both, still madly in love with each other."

Peyton didn't even bother to deny it.

"Haley, he left to get away from me. I think that shows how he really feels about me. He won't be happy if I follow him all the way to Europe" she reasoned.

Haley shook her head "he left because he is confused about it all. Because he doesn't know what to do. Because he is scared of getting hurt again. You need to go there and make him understand. To bring him back. He has never been the same since he went to see you in LA and honestly, I know you haven't either. I want the old Lucas back. Who laughed openly, who opened his heart to everything and everyone. And i want the Peyton who gave witty comebacks and who was fierce and happy."

Peyton sat there as she absorbed her words.

"Neither of you are complete without the other. You will both be miserable for ever and I can't even bear to think about that, let alone see it happen. So go out there and reunite Leyton!" she yelled.

Peyton sat in shock.

"But we don't even know where in Italy he is" she said sadly.

Haley smiled and handed her a piece of paper. "Karen gave me the address."

Peyton smiled widely and stood up to grab the paper.

"i guess i need to book a flight then"

Haley just grinned evilly as she produced another piece of paper from her bag and handed it to her.

"way ahead of you" she grinned, as she passed Peyton the plane ticket.

Peyton laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you Haley"

Haley hugged her back before letting her go. "No need to thank me. Just go and get your guy!"

Peyton beamed before running out of the office leaving a happy Haley in her wake.

Haley stood there and smiled "my work here is done" she said as she swung her bag onto her shoulder and sauntered out of the office. She just hoped Lucas would hear Peyton out.

* * *

Stephania wasn't surprised to see him sitting there again, just like he had for the last 3 weeks. She shook her head before joining him at his usual table.

"There are no more places I think I can suggest to you" she smiled.

Lucas just laughed.

She didn't miss the fact that his laugh didn't quite reach his eyes. After serving so many people day in and day out, she had developed a knack for reading them. She knew he was looking for something the minute she saw him, she had seen it in the faces of many others before. But he seemed more lost, more troubled.

"Have you found it yet?" she asked referring back to the conversation they had a few weeks ago.

He shook his head sadly "I don't think I ever will."

After staring at him for a moment, Stephania suddenly stood up and went over to the man behind the counter, muttering to him in Italian. Lucas watched as the man, Dante, looked over at him and smiled before nodding to Stephania.

She made her way back over to him and tugged on his arm.

"Come signor, there is one more place you must see."

Lucas followed her confusedly.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Just wait and see."

After fifteen minutes of navigating the streets of Rome, they came to a stop in front of a large fountain. Beautiful was the first word that sprang into Lucas' head but didn't seem to do it justice. Carved delicately into the white stone were winged horses being ridden by Gods', as water flowed from many outlets, the sun glistening off it. It was quite simply amazing.

Stephania let go of his arm and motioned towards it.

"This is the Fontana di Trevi." She explained as she sat down on the wall, pushing her hand though the water.

Lucas was still standing gazing at it, "The Trevi Fountain." He smiled.

"Si" replied Stephania as Lucas sat next to her. "Legend has it that if you throw one coin into the fountain you are ensured a return to Rome, which is why so many people come here. However, what many people don't know is that if you thrown in two or three coins, it will lead to a beautiful romance and lifelong love. You will receive this luck if you throw the coins from your right hand, over you left shoulder." She explained.

She looked at him for a moment before speaking again at length.

"So Signor, how many will you throw?" She asked as she handed him some coins.

Lucas look between her and the fountain several times "this is what your suggestion for the day is?" he asked.

She nodded. "We Italians are big believers in fate and love. I have no doubt that this will work for you" she replied as she got up to leave.

Lucas smiled at her "see you tomorrow" he said.

She just grinned back at him over her shoulder "maybe" she replied.

Lucas sat there for a moment as he watched other tourists throw coins into the fountain. He sighed as he looked down at the coins in his hands.

Was he still a believer in fate? Did he trust in this old legend? Did he even want to?

He sighed before sorting out the coins, closing his fist around them before throwing them over his shoulder. He didn't watch them sail through the air, but he heard the three plops as they landed in the water. He smiled at himself before he too got up to leave.

_At the very least, I'm ensured a trip back here_ he thought to himself.

She shuffled in her seat for what she believed to be the thousandth time. She had only been on the plane for two hours and she still had a lot of time to go. She was nervous as hell. Sure she had been confident when she had left her office but now she was hesitant. What if he really didnt want to see her?

_Pull it together Sawyer! _Her brain shouted _you will march right up to him and tell him how you feel. You will make him listen whether he wants to or not. _

She nodded in approval with her subconscious. It was right. She was tired of skirting around her feelings with Lucas. She loved him. Simple as that. She just hoped that he still loved her. Either way, she was willing to fight for him, like he had for her so many times; never once giving up. This time it was Lucas Scott that was in need of saving.

With her mental encouragement having soothed her, she pulled out the book that took up permanent residence in her bag. As she began reading _An Unkindness of Ravens, _she felt her body start to relax as she settled herself down, becoming lost in Lucas' words.

* * *

Lucas sighed as he looked at the clock, which indicated it had been exactly one minute since he last checked. The bright red numbers glared at him as if admonishing his state of consciousness. He never slept particularly well, but tonight seemed harder for him than usual. All the things that Stephania had said today about love, fate and hope were all floating around in his head and he was desperately trying to make sense of it all. It also didn't help that a certain green eyed blonde seemed to be at the forefront of his mind. As always.

He huffed, throwing back the covers as he climbed out of bed.

"Silly Italian musings" he muttered, annoyed that they were preventing him from sleep.

He padded down the hall and into the kitchen, getting himself a glass of water. He leaned against the counter as he sipped from the glass and his mind wondered to home.

As much as he had enjoyed travelling, he missed Tree Hill. As amorous and tranquil Italy was, it just wasn't the same. He now truly understood the phrase, there's no place like home.

He sighed once more as he looked at the clock that was mounted on the wall. 2:45am.

He didn't even consider trying to go back to sleep and instead, went towards his laptop. Maybe he could pass the time by writing. One of the good things about Italy-it was a good muse.

Once he had switched it on, he heard the familiar ping that signalled the arrival of a new email.

Looking at it, he was unsurprised to see it was from Haley and he quickly opened it up. All her emails so far had practically been essays and he knew that this would help pass the time. He was surprised to see it much shorter than normal.

_You owe me big time buddy. Just please remember to keep an open mind. And heart._

_Love you_

_Haley xoxo_

Lucas frowned at the unusually short, cryptic message. What the hell was she on about? He checked back at the last email he had sent, glancing at it to see if he had asked her to do something. Nope. It was just full of crap ramblings he had made up to keep her happy.

He re-read the current message, becoming increasingly confused.

"Ok Hales, weird much?" he grumbled to himself as he shook his head.

Owe her for what? And what did he need to be open-minded about? He shouldn't have been surprised that Haley had once again baffled him-she had been doing so since they were kids. But there was something more to this.

He shook his head once more. First all the talk with Stephania and now Haley? He would never understand women. They were far too confusing.

He was pulled from his scrutiny of the opposite sex when he heard a knock at the door, startling him.

He looked back at the clock. 3:07am. who on earth would knock on his door at this hour. This wasn't helping his already confused state.

He heard the knock again and heaved himself off the couch, figuring it must be one of the neighbours. Didn't they know the concept of not calling at people's houses in the dead of night?

He muttered to himself as he crossed to the front door, the knocking sounding again.

"Ok, ok! I'm coming, jeez. Impatient much?" he shouted at the door, belatedly realising that if it was a neighbour, they wouldn't have understood what he just said.

He unlocked the deadbolt from the door as he pulled it open.

"Do you have any idea.............." the words died in his mouth as he looked up. Right into the eyes of Peyton Sawyer.

He had officially gone mad. He was sure of it. It was bad enough that she haunted his dreams and now he was hallucinating about her? This was going too far.

He stared in blank shock for a few moments, blinking slowly. He felt his jaw hanging, but couldn't find the ability to shut it. He closed his eyes and opened them warily. The hallucination was still there, looking back at him nervously.

_This must be happening because I was thinking about her earlier _he thought to himself. It was just his subconscious playing tricks on him.

He stared for what felt like hours until he was once again pulled from his reverie.

"Are you going to invite me in or are we just going to stand here?"

He felt his eyes bug out of his head in surprise.

_Holy crap! I didn't know hallucinations could talk! _He looked around for a moment, noticing the bag at her feet.

_I didn't know hallucinations had luggage either. _

He met her eyes once more and she smiled lightly at him. He knew then that she was real, he wasn't imagining it. She was here, now, in Italy.

"Peyton" he stated as he continued to stare, dumfounded.

She had to admit, it was a little amusing to see him standing there gaping like a fish. The look of shock on his face was comical. She watched him assess her, blinking rapidly as though clearing his sight. She saw him close his eyes and them open them, checking that she was still there.

Her thoughts of him hadn't done justice. Here he was, blonde hair all messed up, dressed in pyjama pants and a tee shirt, squinting at her in the way she loved. She desperately wanted to launch herself into his arms, to feel him again. But from the look on his face, she would have to take things slowly.

She opted for speaking to him instead and watched his eyes go wide when she did.

"Are you going to invite me in or are we just going to stand here?" she said light-heartedly, hoping to soften the mood.

Lucas didn't reply, he merely looked around dumbly, finally meeting her eyes. She could see the internal struggle he was having and she smiled warmly at him, trying to ease his mind.

At length, he muttered her name, as though needing verbal confirmation that she was actually there.

"Peyton."

She nodded before answering "hey Luke."

Having decided that she was in fact real, Lucas snapped out of his mind lapse and grasped back to reality.

"What are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?" He asked.

Peyton looked at the floor before returning her gaze to his. "I came to see you. Can I come in?"

Lucas then realised that she was still standing in the hallway and hurriedly moved aside so she could enter.

"Sorry, err, come in."

Being the gentleman that he was, he grabbed her bag for her, setting it aside the door as she made her way inside, observing the large open planned apartment.

"This is a nice place" she said conversationally. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach, nervous at the conversation she knew loomed ahead.

"It's Andy's. He let me stay here." He paused, running a hand through his hair. He suddenly felt very self conscious at the thought that he was in an old t-shirt and pyjama pants.

For a moment neither one said anything. There was an awkward silence between them and it was starting to make Lucas feel very uncomfortable.

"Why are you here Peyton?" he repeated.

"I came to see you. I need to talk to you." She replied, never taking her eyes off his face.

Lucas panicked for a moment "is everyone at home ok? Has something happened?" he asked quickly.

Peyton shook her head vigorously, attempting to calm him. "No. Nothing's wrong. Everyone back home is fine. I just needed to talk to you."

Lucas looked confused "you flew all the way to Italy just to talk to me?"

Peyton let out a small smile "well you have been gone for over two months and I was getting a little impatient" she joked.

Lucas shuffled a little and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry I left so suddenly. I just needed some space. To think a few things over" he whispered.

"What kind of things?"

He was reluctant to answer "just....things" he answered lamely looking everywhere but her.

Peyton huffed a little "I see. Well I have been thinking a few things over too while you have been gone. Do you want to know what they are?"

Lucas didn't answer, not liking where this conversation was leading. He shook his head slightly, not trusting himself to speak.

"Well that's a shame, because I have made a few major decisions" she said, slightly irate. This conversation was coming 5 years too late, and all the built up emotions were bubbling to the surface.

"Peyton, please. I can't do this" he muttered.

"Do what Lucas? You won't even give me chance to speak to you properly."

Lucas was suddenly hit by an unrelated issue which he felt the need to voice "how did you even know where I was?"

Peyton paused a moment before answering. "Haley told me, with a little help from Karen."

Suddenly, the email he had received earlier made perfect sense to him.

"Haley. She set all this up" he muttered, more to himself than to her, the words in the email standing out in his head.

_Remember to keep an open mind. And heart._

He shook his head and placed his hands on his hips.

"Are you angry?"

"No. I was just thinking that Brooke has had a bad influence on Haley."

Peyton couldn't help but laugh at this, relief flooded through her knowing that Lucas wasn't upset.

"Yeah, I think she has."

The uncomfortable silence was back, filling the room like a giant elephant. Peyton knew it was now or never. She hadn't come all the way to Italy to just turn around and go home.

"Lucas. I know you don't want to but we have to talk about this."

"About what?" he questioned, deliberately playing dumb.

"You know what. Me, you....us."

"There is no us Peyton. Not anymore." He said dejectedly.

She shook her head "that doesn't have to be that case. We can sort things out."

"No. we can't."

"Yes we can! Why are you being so close minded about all this?" she said, her voice rising. She was becoming increasingly annoyed at his lack of positive response.

"Because I blew it Peyton! I messed everything up when I proposed to you in LA and I hurt you so much. I did the one thing I swore to myself that I would never do and I won't allow myself to do it again."

He sighed as he once again ran his hand through his hair as Peyton stood dumbfounded.

"I think its best that you go. You can by all means stay and get some rest, but it would be better for both of us if you go home."

Now she was angry. "So that's it then? You decided what best for the both of us without any say from me? Am I not allowed to have an opinion on this?"

He didn't answer her.

"Don't close yourself up on me Lucas! It's all you have been doing and I'm tired of it! I just flew 10 hours on a plane to talk to you and god dammit, you will listen to me!"

Lucas stepped back, not anticipating her outburst. When he made no move to speak she continued.

"I'm sick of you running away from your feelings! You did it in LA and you're doing it now! Why are you so afraid to show how you feel? You always used to be open about your emotions Luke. You never hid them."

Peyton sighed heavily as she waited for an answer. She wasn't going to let him get out of this.

He slumped on the sofa, glaring at the floor before he answered.

"People change Peyton"

"I know that" she said softly.

He rubbed his hands over his face before continuing. "I'm not the same guy I was back then. Nowhere near it. I don't know how to be like that anymore. It feels like I have been somebody else these last few years and I don't know how to get back."

He paused for a moment as she sat next to him on the couch.

"I wish I could take back what I did Peyton. The minute I stepped out of the hotel room I knew I had made the biggest mistake of my life. But I hurt you and I couldn't look you in the eyes knowing I had done that. And like I said before, I don't want to do it again. I won't. And I don't want to hurt myself either; I don't think I could take it."

There was silence in the room as his words washed over her. They were down to the deep stuff now and there was no turning back. It was all being laid out on the table.

She shifted slightly so that she was facing him more and observed his face. He was staring out the window with a pained expression.

"So you think, that by hiding you heart away, it won't be hurt? That I won't be hurt?" she asked delicately.

He didn't answer.

"Luke, by doing that you only hurt yourself more. By doing that you keep yourself from living."

He shook his head.

"No Peyton, by doing it I protect you"

"Really? Well it's not working. Being apart from you, not seeing you all the time. That hurts me. When I came home with Brooke and saw you for the first time? That hurt so much. You looked so broken and lost. And all I could think about was how much I had missed you. Missed us. And then, when you distanced yourself from me, that was agony. And finding out you flew all the way to Europe without so much as a goodbye? You think that didn't hurt me? You need to come up with a new plan because the one you have now sucks."

She stopped to collect her breath before she launched into another verbal onslaught.

"You know, you have this overwhelming need to protect everyone all the time. Make decisions on their behalf because you think its best. What about what they think about what's best for them? Don't you think I should have a choice in this before you bury our relationship for good?"

He turned to look at her then. The pain in his eyes was almost more than she could take.

"I'm no good for you Peyton" he said it with such belief that it made her heart lurch.

She shook her head "don't say that. Like I said, isn't that something that I should get to decide?"

"It's true Peyton. How can you still want to be with me after what I did? I forced a proposal on you and then abandoned you when I didn't get the answer that I wanted!"

He jumped out the chair as he shouted loudly.

"You don't deserve someone like that! What kind of guy does that make me, huh? Who just up and leaves. It makes me like Dan, that's who! And I refuse to let you have to deal with someone like that!"

By now Peyton had jumped up too and she looked just as angry as Lucas.

"Don't you dare compare yourself to him! You are so much better than Dan could ever dream of being! And stop making choices for me god dammit! You know, for a smart guy, you sure to have a stupid way of thinking about things!"

Both of them were glaring at each other, breathing heavily.

She exhaled noisily and took a calming breath before speaking again.

"Lucas, please. Don't close yourself off. Don't let one mistake dictate how we should be. What happened in LA, happened. We can't change it. But we can learn from it. We can move on."

She bravely reached forward and placed a hand on his arm, needing to feel him.

He made no movement or response, but she knew he was listening intently.

"How Peyton? How can we just move on from it? What I did...."

"What you did was show your feelings. And yes, you left. But it's not like I rushed out the door after you. We both could have fixed it then instead of being to proud and scared to do anything about it. What's done is done. These last few years have been a nightmare without you. I haven't lived, I've just existed. I want to be with you Luke. I need to be with you."

She brought a hand out to rest on his cheek as she looked into his eyes.

"I love you Lucas. I always have and always will. And nothing you do or say is ever going to change that."

He closed his eyes briefly "you can't" he whispered.

She brought her other hand to his opposite cheek, cupping his face.

"I think I can. And I do."

His eyes met hers again. He was pulled in by their deep green pools, ones he had gotten lost in countless times before. He listened once more as she spoke again.

"Even if you don't love me back, it won't stop my feelings for you. If you tell me right now that you don't love me, I will go. I will go back to Tree Hill and I will never bother you again if that's what you want. If want me to leave you so badly, say it, and I will leave you in peace."

He took a shuddering breath, feeling the warmth of her hands on his face.

"Peyton..." he trailed off

"Look me in the eyes, tell me you don't love me and I will go Lucas." She said firmly, still grasping his face.

His mind flashed back through all his memories of them, the good and the bad, crashing through his mind at lightning speed.

_Have an open mind. And heart. _

He looked deeper into her eyes as she waited for an answer and he slowly shook his head, closing his eyes.

"I...can't" he whispered, his words ghosting through the air. He brought his hands up to her own face before he uttered the words he had been dying to say to her.

"I love you Peyton. I never stopped"

Her glowing smile was his response and before either of them knew what was happening, their lips were crashing together, pouring all the love they had for each other into one kiss.

For all they knew, years could have passed by the time they pulled apart, smiling at each other.

"Do you have any idea how long I have been waiting to hear that?" she asked through her tears.

He swiped the pads of his thumbs under her eyes; wiping away the moisture "about as long as I have to say it" he chuckled.

"And in that moment, my victory wasn't a state championship, but a moment of clarity. For I was now, and always would be, in love with Peyton Sawyer."

She smiled softly at him as she absorbed his words before bringing him in for another kiss.

* * *

The next day brought more of the typical Italian sunshine and Stephania took a moment to enjoy it before she carried on cleaning the table. She smiled as she looked to the one he always occupied, sitting empty in the corner of the terrace.

She checked the time, noticing that it was an hour passed the time he usually came.

"Two coins it was then" she grinned as she moved over to a group in the corner, knowing that he had finally found what he had been looking for.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought! **


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